The Runner
by hauntingchristine
Summary: There was nothing special about Emma Bloom; until, of course, she got close to Captain America and then suddenly everyone wanted to speak her. Even the bad guys. Steve/OC


**The Runner**

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**A/N ; **I was already like halfway through this fic when I realized Emma shared her name with Emma from Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. I don't really want to change it, because I've learned to just associate it with _my _Emma now, so I probably won't change it. The joys of fanfiction! The story starts pre-Winter Soldier and eventually, when the time comes, will probably go into Avengers 2. There'll be much more of a plot than what it starts like, but it'll slowly be revealed. Also, to readers of my other fic, updates won't slow down or anything!

**Summary ; **There was nothing special about Emma Bloom; until, of course, she got close to Captain America and then suddenly everyone wanted to speak her. Even the bad guys.

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**1 . Emma**

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_Dear Emma,_

_How are you liking DC? I'm super proud of you for the move - I know it must've been hard considering everything you went through. Just know I'm here supporting you! Along with this letter, I sent you a package full of your old stuff. I pulled it straight from your room; hope you don't mind me going through your things! It's just the stuff I assumed you wouldn't want to leave behind. I guessed you left it behind because you were rushing. Yeah._

_Everything here is alright! Abby took her first steps today, and it was the most amazing thing I've ever seen! Seriously, Em, you should've been here- No, I don't want to say that! Knowing you, you'd probably bag your bags straight away and come home, saying I "needed you" or something. Don't! You'll be fine over there. Just fine. Anyways, Toby says hi. He also says he lost a minute off his mile run and is hoping you'll rematch him sometime in the near future._

_This won't be a long letter. I just wrote it because I thought maybe you'd find it funny. Remember when we wrote letters to each other all the time, and Mom still let us mail them? That was awesome. Okay, okay, I'm done now. Bye!_

_Love, _

_Charlie_

Holding the letter tightly within her hands, Emma frowned slightly when there was a slight pang in her heart at her sister's words. She had just spoken with Charlie over the phone this morning, and yet she felt as though she hadn't seen her older sister in years. She wanted to see Abby, her tiny little niece who could barely keep herself from tugging Emma's hair out. Hell, she even missed _Toby_, Charlie's obnoxious husband, who was constantly challenging Emma.

She set down the paper and picked up the box that had been sitting on her kitchen table since this morning. She shook it, once, and sighed deeply. It could wait till tomorrow. She didn't want to feel any more sadness. She set it back down, this time on the chair, so it'd be easier to miss.

Scraping her hair back into a ponytail, Emma grabbed her phone from the table and pressed something on the screen. She pressed it to her and hadn't even waited a full thirty seconds before someone answered. "Hello?" the cheery voice asked.

"My dearest Lila," Emma said in a deep voice, moving around her small kitchen area, "Could I have the pleasure of meeting with you soon?"

A startled gasp came from the other end. "Why, Emma, I told you I am not that kind of girl!"

"But I cannot bear the thought of not seeing you!" Smiling cheekily, Emma pressed the phone between her cheek and shoulder as she refilled her water bottle, screwing the cap on tightly. "Please, just humor me, just this once?"

Lila blew air from her nose, sounding distressed. "Well, maybe just this once. But you must not tell a soul!"

"I wouldn't dare it," Emma said gravely, setting down the water bottle. Her eyes skimmed out the window, watching as the sun just rose above the horizon. _Perfect time for a run_, she thought happily. "Ten minutes, by the park?"

"I'll be there," Lila agreed, and with a click, she was gone.

/*\

Lila Conners was 5'9 and blue-eyed. She had been Emma's friend since middle school, and had moved to DC two years prior to Emma. She'd been more than half the reason Emma had decided to move at all; without her friend's support, Emma might have still been living within her small room at her sister's.

She waved when she approached, and Emma grinned. "Ready to run?"

"Sometimes I don't know why I even bother," Lila commented wryly, rolling her eyes and stepping next to Emma. She stretched her leg out, bending to touch the tip of her sneaker. "Everything's a competition with you."

"Not _everything_. I don't like cooking... so that's definitely not a contest."

"Remind me to enter us both in a reality cooking TV show." Lila brushed her hair behind her ear, brought her arms above her head, and stretched one last time. "Okay, some grounds rules, Bloom. No mocking me."

Emma nodded. "I can do that."

"You cannot run more than thirty feet in front of me."

Turning to shoot a look at Lila, Emma paused when the woman glared at her, serious. Emma swallowed, and nodded again, a little less enthusiastic. "...Fine, I guess."

"And finally, absolutely _no _obstacles in our way." Lila firmly pointed this out by shoving her finger into Emma's neck, poking furiously. "None whatsoever."

Emma made a noise in the back of her throat. "But, Lila, you know that's the only way I can stretch my legs efficiently!"

"Not all of us can take flying leaps over picnic tables!" Lila threw her hands up, as if this was common sense. Emma crossed her arms like a child, pouting. "I tried once, and ended with stitches in my leg."

"It's not my fault you're not flexible," Emma grumbled under her breath.

Lila cocked an eyebrow. "What was that?"

"Nothing!" Emma said, a smile appearing on her lips. "Are you ready?"

Blowing out a sigh, Lila nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Getting into position, Emma's lips curved upwards into a sideways smirk. She bent down, fingers brushing the pavement. Lila made a sound of disgust, but bent down anyways. "Must everything be so formal?"

Emma made a whistling sound, and the two girls started off. At first, Emma and Lila looked tied, both of them at the same pace. They briskly jogged down the path, waving to a few other runners and one woman who was walking her dog. They had just passed the center of the park when Lila glanced over at her friend.

"You can go ahead. I'll meet you at the end?"

Emma frowned. "But the ground rule was that-"

Lila brushed her off. "Don't worry about that. Just go. I know you want to."

Reaching out and squeezing her friend's upper arm, Emma smiled. She faced forward and ducked her head. Before Lila could possibly change her mind, Emma darted off, legs moving faster than anyone expected. Her eyes narrowed as she sped along, the world slowly morphing into a blur. Her heart rate slowly sped up in her chest, the thump echoing in her ears.

Running was her thing. She bet, soon enough, if you looked running up in the dictionary, it'd be her name and picture: _Emma Eloise Bloom_. She had been running ever since she could walk. And she was good at it - and she wasn't good at anything! Her whole school career had been a mess of track and cross country medals and awards, not to mention the numerous hours on the road towards the contests and meets themselves.

And this was what she was born to do-

Something was blocking her way. Having been lost in her thoughts, she hadn't seen it appear. Trying her hardest to keep her face composed, Emma knelt down heavily on her right leg and then pushed off, hurtling upwards in the air. She jumped right over the object, landing harshly on her ankle, but keeping her balance. She winced.

"Are you _okay_?" the person asked, shocked.

Emma turned to speak with them, and stumbled, still dizzy from the jump. The man reached out quickly and grabbed her elbows, steadying her. The stars subsided soon, and she blinked rapidly. Finally, she snapped back to reality and paused, staring at the man holding her up. _Oh my God_, Emma thought slowly, resisting the urge to widen her eyes in surprise, _That's Captain America_.

Hadn't he asked her something? "...Uh, what did you ask me?"

He gave her a small smile, and released his grip on her arms. "I asked if you were okay."

"Huh? Yeah, yeah, I'm fine!" Her hands slightly shook as she brushed her bangs off her forehead. The back of her neck was sweaty, but it definitely wasn't from the running. "I'm sorry for running into you."

He waved off her concern. "It was my fault, anyway. I was in the middle of the sidewalk."

"Tying your shoe?" Emma asked, eyes falling on his sneakers. One of the laces was untied; she guessed he hadn't finished tying it when she had leaped over him. She laughed nervously. "Sorry. About jumping over you. I was kind of lost in my own mind."

"That was a quite a jump you made," he responded as he bent to continue tying his shoe. He finished quickly and straightened up. "Did the adrenaline rush help you make it, or can you actually jump that high?"

Feeling her cheeks burn, Emma tucked her hands behind her back and shrugged. "I can actually do it. It's nothing special, really." Before he could talk further about her little stunt, Emma took a step back. She was already feeling a little sick. "Listen, I gotta go. It was nice meeting you."

She turned and started back towards where Lila was, not listening to his reply.

/*\

"You mean to say that Captain America lives _here_?" Lila sat down at her own kitchen table with a smile, holding a cup of coffee in her hands. Emma sat across from her, one leg up on the chair, her right arm curled around it. She rested her chin on her knee, staring out through the window blankly. "Hello? Earth to Emma?"

Snapping out of her trance, Emma looked back at her friend. "Were you saying something?"

"What's the matter with you? You've been like this ever since we got back from the run." Lila scowled, but then her face went bright as she realized something. "It's because you saw him, didn't you?"

Emma frowned. "Saw who?"

"Captain America!" Lila tossed up her hands. "I know you went through a lot, Emma. I do. And I can't even begin to know what that's like. But you can't blame him for what happened. He even _saved _you."

Resting her arms on the table, Emma paused. "Well, not just me. He saved a lot of people. And I don't blame him! He just... brings up the memory I guess."

Lila reached over and squeezed Emma's hand. "The best way to get over something is to face it."

Emma narrowed her eyes. "What are suggesting I do?"

"Talk to him next time. Don't shy away."

Emma pulled her hand from Lila's and sat back. She drummed her fingers on the edge of the table. "I probably won't even get the chance to speak with him again."

Lila pointed at her. "But if you do, promise me you'll say something!"

Knowing the odds of her ever stumbling upon him again were zero to none, Emma sucked in a breath and nodded. "I promise."

/*\

Rolling up her sleeves to her elbow, Emma had just finished cleaning the window. She rested her hands on her hips, admiring her work, smiling. She started when Michael spoke up from behind her, voice loud as always: "Looks great, Emma!"

She turned, clutching the towel in her hand, the other one pressed to her chest. "Don't _do _that."

"Don't do what?" he asked obliviously, and craned his neck around Emma. "I can even see the back office from here!"

"I do a good job, what can I say?" Emma rolled her eyes and moved past the automatic doors. Michael followed, brushing his bangs back from his forehead. "Aren't you supposed to be ringing people's items up? I don't see you by a register."

"It's not busy." He took a quick glance back towards the front to confirm it. "I just wanted to take a break."

Emma furrowed her eyebrows. "I don't think that really qualifies-"

"Emma!" Alyssa's shrill voice made Emma wince.

She loved both Michael and Alyssa dearly, but the twins could make anyone want to ram their head into a wall. Multiple times. The Ryan twins were exact opposites, but both equally overbearing. Alyssa had a tendency to be loud and obnoxious, and was one of the most spoiled girls Emma had ever known. She wasn't too bad, considering she'd been given a reality check when she came to work in the large grocery store, but she had her moments. Michael was a little less of a spoiled brat, but he wasn't too smart.

All in all, Emma didn't mind. They were nice and good company around the store, and that's all she cared about. She could overlook their flaws, just like, she was sure, they did hers.

Emma brushed her hands off on her leggings. "What is it?"

Michael raised his eyebrows. "I bet it's nothing important. Some cute boy probably entered the store and now she can't contain herself."

Alyssa made a noise in the back of her throat. "That's _exactly _it!" Michael groaned loudly and threw his head back, mouthing: _What did I tell you_? to the air. "But it wasn't just any boy. It was _Captain America_!"

Emma collapsed into a chair when they entered the break room. "And why's that surprising?"

"Isn't it just weird that he would be here? I mean, we do work in a grocery store-"

"Everyone has to eat, Alyssa," Emma pointed out. "And anyways, it doesn't particularly matter. Leave him alone."

Alyssa pouted. "I wasn't going to stalk him or anything."

"Yeah, right," Michael retorted, and Alyssa shot him a look.

Not in the mood to have to stop a sibling fight, Emma opened her mouth to stop it. The door opened with a bang when the manager strolled in, looking annoyed at all three of them. Having hated the man with a passion ever since she started working, Emma had made it a point to never remember his name, keeping her eyes away from his nametag, and not paying attention to the intercom half the time (which resulted in some missed calls).

"Bread aisle needs restocking, Bloom," he snapped at her as he passed, not looking at her.

"But I just cleaned the windows," Emma spoke up. "Can't someone do it for a moment while I recharge for a few seconds?"

He threw her a disgust look. One which she _definitely _did not deserve. "Aren't you a _runner_? You can manage."

_Fine._ Emma hopped to her feet, making a little more noise than needed, and shoved her chair back in. She ignored the annoyed _huff _he gave her in return, and she stalked from the room, slamming the door a little louder than necessary. Work was stressful, but it was still some her source of income.

By the time she finished, her shift was nearly over.

"Almost done," she breathed, fingers tapping on the shelves. Turning her head to check the clock, she noticed a man standing down at the end of aisle. _Captain America? _She had completely forgot about him being here after pulling her little tantrum. _Just my luck, I guess_.

She could finish re-stocking the shelf she was on and then make a run for it. She could leave shortly after, and be gone. She grabbed the last bag and threw it up a little lazily.

"Miss?"

She recognized the voice. Cursing inwardly, Emma tilted her head to look at him. He looked exactly like he did the other day, when she'd nearly ran into him running. She brushed her hair behind her ear. _Maybe if I look busy_. "Oh, hey! I ran into you the other day running, right?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I just spotted you, and figured I should apologize."

Emma had expected a lot of things, but not that. "Apologize? You don't really have anything to apologize for." She gave a shaky laugh. "_I _should be apologizing. I nearly ran right into you. That could've been embarrassing."

He laughed. "You seemed upset, so I guessed I might've said something."

Now she felt bad. She shifted her weight onto her other foot. "Yeah, it's not you. Definitely not you." She cleared her throat, wiped her slightly sweaty hands on her apron, and sighed. "I think we should start over." She held out her hand. "I'm Emma Bloom."

He reached out and shook her hand firmly. "Steve Rogers."

"I, uh... I feel really bad for making you think you did something wrong." She cast a glance behind her at the clock. "I get off in five minutes. I owe you an explanation, because I was extremely rude. I can meet you outside." She suddenly turned red, completely remembering her manners after the fact. "I-if you want, I mean."

Giving her a nod, he agreed.

As she pulled off her apron in the back room, Emma wondered just what had possessed her to blurt something out like that. She supposed it was what Lila had said. She did want to get over her fear. It was silly to think something on that scale could ever happen again, let alone her be involved with it. She wrung her hands together for a moment to gather her courage back together before she ducked from the room.

/*\

"If I get to the point where I just seem like I'm unleashing my entire life story onto you, _please _tell me to stop." Emma kept her hands in front of her, one pressed on top of the other to keep the shaking to a minimum. "And then, after this you can just forgot about me... but at least remember my reasons for acting so weird."

From across the small table, Steve gave her a supportive smile. "Go ahead."

They had made the small trek to the coffee shop in silence. Emma had spent most of the walk keeping her eyes trained on the ground, ignoring the fact that Captain America himself was right next to her. She had nearly dove into the seat when they arrived, and composed herself during the time he was gone, getting their drinks.

She wrapped her fingers around her cup, taking a deep breath. "I, um, was in New York, like, a year and a half ago." He made a face of realization. "Yeah. When all that stuff was happening. It was just me and a few friends and my sister, on a small vacation. We were in a building when... those things hit? All I really remember is screaming and stuff, and then you came and kinda saved the day, I guess..." She shrugged. "I suppose my memory just kind of associates you with the incident."

"That explains the shaking," he joked.

Emma turned white. "Oh, you noticed that?" But she laughed anyways, and was pleasantly surprised to find that her voice didn't crack or shake.

Turning serious, he leaned back in the chair. "You were alright, though? Afterwards?"

"Mostly. I injured my leg when I ran out, and it set me back a few months for my running." Emma frowned, staring into the distance. Her memories of being not able to run were the worst. "It was a dark time."

"You like running?"

"I love it," she gushed, a shy smile spreading onto her face. "It's basically my whole entire life. I've been running ever since I was a kid, and I'm even into marathons and things like that-" She suddenly stopped, mouth dropping open slightly. "I am so rude. So rude. I've been talking about myself."

"No worries," he told her simply.

The rest of their visit was spent switching between them talking about small things, nothing too deep. Emma wouldn't have minded if they talked about the weather only; Lila had been right, and by the end of evening, she barely even thought about New York anymore whenever she looked at him.

She had been in the middle of a statement about her sister when her phone went off, startling her. She glanced at it, watching Lila's face fill up the screen. "I'm sorry," she said, and then swallowed. "But, uh, it's getting late, so-"

"No, yeah," he agreed, standing.

"I'll see you around, then?" she asked, and he nodded.

She waited until he had left before she answered her phone, pressing it to her ear. "You would not _believe _who I just spent an hour and a half talking to."


End file.
